2023 Music Marketing Strategies: The Media Landscape

I checked in with 8 music professionals working in media and asked them all the same questions: 

"Has your perspective on how you decide which artists to cover changed recently? 

How do you personally discover artists?"

Here's their answers:

1) Noah Callahan-Bever - Founder & CEO, IDEA GENERATION 

"When I started in media in the late 90s, our only guage of popularity or audience was radio/video spins and record sales—information that was gated and guarded so while we had some access to data most decisions were based on anecdotal evidence and personal preference.

In the last 10 years I've been able to look at an artist's reach and engagement—and guestimate their ability to drive audience (both from within my brand's existing community, and potentially from their community into mine) and combine that with my personal taste and anecdotal feel for their momentum and decide if coverage makes sense. 

It is still very far from algorithmic, but it is much more informed.

I follow a broad swathe of people across social that I feel have progressive taste—many of whom are A&Rs—as well as a handful of playlists that focus emergent artists, and just look to see new follows and new adds, and then try to identify those who I like, personally as well as which artists seem to have remarkable growth velocity."

2) @donna claire - Author & Music Journalist

"My POV on coverage has always been framed around this question: "Do people *need* to hear this music?"

I think sharing is at the core of what we do. 

In terms of discovery, it's never from being spammed on socials. 

I like to dig around DSPs + talk to my music-head friends to discover what's making them excited."

[...]

3) Dylan Green - Contributing Editor, Pitchfork

"My perspective has always been: don’t write about music that don’t move me.

I get emails and DMs from publicists, managers, and artists all the time and I get most of the music i cover from looking through those, scouring YouTube, and word of mouth from people I trust.

I’m blessed to be surrounded by creatives online and offline who not only share my interests but challenge them and introduce new things I wouldn’t consider otherwise. keep people who bring you new music close."

4) @tenzin dekyi - PR/Digital Marketing, Writer @ Swidlife

"My perspective on which artists I decide to cover hasn’t changed much honestly. I cover music I genuine like and am a fan of; i believe that’s when the best and most authentic writing is produced.

I discover artists from a mixture of platforms, mostly from the submissions I receive from the Twitter community but also from the autoplays on Spotify and Apple music. 

The amount of music you can discover is endless and i’m so very grateful for that.

I want my role in this space to be about helping deserving, talented artists get the recognition they deserve by simply giving them a platform to be highlighted and letting the music do the rest.

The talent is already there, it’s just getting the rest of the world to catch up to it."

5) @GabePNYC - Amazon Music & On The Radar CEO

"I think discovering artists like music is always changing and adapting. As more new forms of social media has made it somewhat easier to have new artists be directly fed to you.

Personally how I like to discover artists is directly through word of mouth. 

Often times I look at each artist that comes on my show as a bridge to the next.

Wolfacejoeyy for example has been my bridge to the underground community and honestly always is sending me new artists and producers who I never heard of but many who have come on my show and since been very successful.

Also while many people say the blog era is dead id disagree, most of the “blog era” now is just on Instagram as various localized ig accounts like a whatnycsoundslike or your (insert blog page about Jacksonville Florida’s rappers here)

I don’t think my perspective has changed if I like the artist ima bring them on, OTR is meant for everyone from the legends, to the hottest artists out right now to the next ups."

6) Jade G. - News Editor & Features Writer, PAPER Magazine 

"I’ve always had autonomy to choose artists I liked, and for the most part I’ve always found ways to include acts I love into my coverage.

I have no set criteria, but I am more likely to cover an artist if I discover them organically or it’s pitched to me properly.

I’ve developed relationships with publicists who learned my taste and don’t inundate me with pitches, which lends itself to me being more likely to open the email because I know there’s intent.

I’ve also become more open to covering artists I don’t necessarily listen to if they have a larger message or story that I feel is a good fit for our audience, but I also have to make sure that the music is still enjoyable.

As I advance in my career and have more responsibilities, I am much more precious about my time and I value thoughtful, non-intrusive pitches and inquiries as I am now in a position where music comes to me more than I seek it out.

I discover music in many different ways. 

I love exploring the radio feature with an empty Spotify account so it doesn’t push artists I already have in my library. 

I also browse subreddits of artists and genres I enjoy.

I still utilize 8tracks and LastFM as valuable discovery tools!

Another tried and true one is YouTube recommended videos, as they especially do well for me when I’m listening to old tapes not on streaming (as a Southern rap fan, never underestimate the power of the YouTube algorithm). 

Also never be afraid to Shazam a song in the middle of a store or look up lyrics. 

I don’t think there’s such a thing as being “late” to an artist. I explore at my own pace so that what I love doesn’t feel like a chore."

7) Ahmad Davis - Journalist 

"There’s more artists than ever reaching out to journalists in hopes of securing coverage.

That is why presentation is everything, I’m looking for email etiquette & clean visuals before checking out music.

I use Audiomack to discover new artists."

8) Caitlin LoPilato - Freelance Writer / A&R

"I think more than ever I’m moved by artists who aren’t afraid.

There are so many world and social pressures right now that can shatter creative optimism, and it feels like a lot of artists are doubting themselves and dimming their own lights.

It’s all understandable, but I think it’s important to keep spotlighting artists that are unapologetic about what they’re making and what they stand for."